For whatever reason, Republicans seem to have it out for Pete Buttigieg, the first out gay cabinet secretary in U.S. history.
Hmmm… can anybody figure out why?!
The latest non-issue they’ve blown up revolves around comments Buttigieg made Monday in an interview with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki, Biden’s first White House press secretary. When asked about crime rates in Washington D.C., Buttigieg said the nation’s capital is safer now than when he arrived in January 2021.
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To help prove his point, he mentioned an anecdote about being able to safely walk his dog to work.
“There’s a lot of funding, and a lot of energy, going into telling a different story, especially on ideological news outlets and online,” he said. “But the simple facts and the simple reality are staring us in the face, including the fact that I can safely walk my dog to the Capitol today, in a way you couldn’t do when we all got here.”
Admittedly, that’s not the best answer, especially considering Buttigieg is flanked by his own secretary detail. But in the world of political interviews, his response to Psaki’s question about safety is hardly a gaff.
That’s because the facts are on the transportation secretary’s side. Violent crime in D.C. is falling year-over-year. As of last month, there’s been a 36% drop in homicides, as well as nearly 100 less assaults with a dangerous weapon.
But viewers who tune into Fox News, or other right-wing outlets, don’t see those numbers. When talking about crime in D.C., they still use data from 2023.
Also, as a federal cabinet official, Buttigieg has no jurisdiction over D.C.’s laws. Blaming him for the city’s crime rate is akin to blaming him for Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapsing after it was hit by a giant cargo ship.
Oh wait, they did that too!
As one of the Biden Administration’s most effective communicators, Buttigieg often appears on Fox to debunk ludicrous right-wing narratives. He defends himself with aplomb, such as when he calls out the double-standard applied to him and his husband, Chasten.
One of Buttigieg’s most notable exchanges came last year, when he pushed back against criticism over Chasten accompanying him when he led the U.S. delegation to the Invictus Games.
“Before me, it was the Secretary of the Army under President Trump who took that trip with his wife,” he said. “Before that, it was Mrs. Trump, as First Lady, who went to the Invictus Games. Before that, Mrs. Obama did the same thing. And I guess the question on my mind is, if no one’s raising questions about why Secretary Esper and his wife led that delegation, as they should have, then why is it any different when it’s me and my husband?”
Bret Baier, the anchor who was grilling Buttigieg, was left speechless.
While Republicans try to gin up fake scandals, Buttigieg continues to try and make travel more equitable. He’s championed an array of changes that make air travel more palatable for disabled people, such as making airplane bathrooms more accessible and widening airplane aisles to better accommodate wheelchairs.
Under Buttigieg’s watch, transportation hubs across the country have made changes to increase their compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
One of the key advisors pushing Buttigieg is Emily Voorde, who first met him when he was running for mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Born with a genetic condition that makes bones brittle, Voorde, who uses a wheelchair, worked for him in the White House.
“I had the chance to brief the policy team as well as Pete himself on best practice in talking about and engaging with disability, which was really powerful. If you have a candidate or elected official who won’t even say the word ‘disability,’ that conversation isn’t going anywhere,” she told 19.
“I gave Pete and the policy team permission to talk about and with people with disabilities, to talk about accommodation. I helped give them the tools to engage authentically.”
Buttigieg, for his part, credits Voorde for pushing him.
“I’ve always recognized the importance of disability work in policy, but there’s no way that I would have the same understanding of it,” he said. “I would like to think that I’d pay just as much attention to it no matter what. But there’s no question that my understanding of it was shaped by Emily’s experience and her expertise.”
Despite promising a $1 billion investment in infrastructure, Trump failed to push legislation through Congress. Biden, meanwhile, signed a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law during his first year in office.
Since then, Buttigieg has helped steer that funding to projects across the country.
Those paying attention recognize his role.
As far as we’re concerned, Buttigieg deserves all of the hearts, both for his accomplishments, and successfully pushing back against homophobes on the right.
CornPopBadDude
“How dare you compare the horrendous 2023 data when we have already had THREE full months of 2024!” LOL!!!
Robberies Up 67%
Homicides Up 35%
Violent Crime Up 39%
Vehicle Thefts Up 82%
(Per 2022 vs 2023 DC Metropolitan Police Department)
Reminder, Joe Biden took office January 20, 2021.
Doing a bang up job, Joe!
Kangol2
Keep trying!
wikidBSTN
Hmmmmm – no citation. Why? To lazy or just don’t exist?
CornPopBadDude
@wikidBSTN
No citation?
Try reading it again. (Reading comprehension!)
dbmcvey
Hey look another Barren rebrand!
dbmcvey
And crime has plummeted in 2024 so far.
RGL
CornPopBadDude- when someone asks for citations, they mean this….. Where did you get your statistics? Faux News? Reading comprehension! And by the way, Joe Biden isn’t in charge of the DC police force. Why don’t you look up the data on Red States vs Blue States on gun death violence. Tricky things, facts….
https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/district-crime-data-glance
https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/116676/documents/HHRG-118-JU08-20231213-SD004.pdf
LumpyPillows
What do DC crime statistics have to do with Pete or Joe Biden? Nothing.
abfab
Baron von Corn Hole Dude Pop Wiseman can’t even find DC on a map. He has no idea how the District Of Columbia works, and THANKS TO THE REPUBLICANS, how it DOSEN’T WORK.
Fahd
He had a credible presidential campaign despite having only won the mayoral election in South Bend. He’s technocrat smart. He’s a veteran. His sexuality is only an issue for those who already would never vote for him. Regrettably, I think his stature is the biggest stumbling block to his future political success. As far as I’m concerned, he’d be a great replacement for Harris on the 2024 ticket, but that is not going to happen.
abfab
His stature.
Fahd
He’s not tiny, he’s no Bloomberg (no fan here, btw), but it’s worrisome when one looks at the height of Presidents.
abfab
You might want to quit while you’re ahead. This worries you? Take a hoiliday.
still_onthemark
The only thing that bothers me about Pete is that he worked for McKinsey which is a truly EVIL company.
dbmcvey
It would be a huge mistake to replace Harris.
LumpyPillows
I supported Pete big time for president. Still think he is the cat’s meow.
As far as replacing Harris, that’s tough. What is needed for Harris is to step up, like Joe did at the State of the Union, and mitigate the perceived negatives the republicans have made up or exaggerated. Best plan. She is smart enough and has the skills; she just needs to get the extreme left kids out of her ear.
abfab
This:
”…..it is that the extreme leftists here do not want to admit they were wrong about the problems with the transgender movement”
and
”……..she just needs to get the extreme left kids out of her ear.”
You’re making good points, Sir Lumpy, but it gets weird when you bring ”extreme leftests” into your writings to bolster your good points.
LumpyPillows
All she needs to do again is start a speech to world leaders by announcing her pronouns.
dbmcvey
Lump, I don’t think anyone cares about that as much as you seem to. It’s really not on the top of things people are worried about.
LumpyPillows
I hope you are right.
dbmcvey
I’m not even sure how it came into this discussion. This issue has nothing to do with people’s pronouns.
inbama
While we all laugh at FOX news, if you don’t have at least one conservative news source in your feed, you are getting as skewed a vision of reality almost as bad as the MAGA bubble.
The big LGBT news this week is Britain issuing the Cass report which reaffirmed that the overwhelming majority of kids transitioning in the U.K. were gays and lesbians. As a result, minors will now be given exploratory therapy instead of puberty blockers and surgeries. WPATH (the World Professional Association for Transgender Health) responded by calling the report and the new policies “cis-supremacist”.
Chrisk
Fox isn’t a news site. They’re an entertainment site that caters to conspiracies and lies. Even they admit that. Not sure what conservative counter News site you’re referring to.
still_onthemark
@ChrisK: The Cass report is a big deal. See in The Atlantic (definitely NOT a right-wing site!) – “Britain Is Leaving the U.S. Gender-Medicine Debate Behind” by Helen Lewis – “The Cass report challenges the scientific basis of medical transition for minors.”
dbmcvey
I agree, but Fox isn’t a news site. Fox is proven to tell lies to its viewers and they use the excuse that they are entertainment, not news.
LumpyPillows
Can’t argue with the facts, attack the source? Fox was not the only source of the report, which is true.
It is that the extreme leftists here do not want to admit they were wrong about the problems with the transgender movement, which has good overboard and is hurting a lot of kids. They will argue and misdirect on facts and denigrate anyone who disagrees. It is so predictable. This is not good for transgender people either as it undermines their legitimacy.
abfab
Again with the extreme leftists. That’s weak.
LumpyPillows
I call out extreme leftists to separate them and their bad ideals from the rest of the democratic party. To blunt the attack on us that we are all like them, and we most certainly are not. If they paint the democratic party as Hamas-loving, pronoun warriors and it sticks, we lose.
abfab
Sounds good. Thanks for your explanation, Lumps!
dbmcvey
Or is it that some conservatives want to claim every problem is somehow the fault of trans people?
LumpyPillows
I wish it was only trans people they hated, which isn’t good at all. They hate a lot of things. It is their one true core belief – hating democrats and liberals and anything we support.
dbmcvey
Lump, you’re one of the people who are blaming trans people for everything.
RIGay
And what was Trump’s military record? “Bone spur deferment” I recall.
JOJO
I didn’t see the interview, however I’m not sure why he’s being asked about crime rates. I’d leave those questions for the Metro Police. She would better serve her viewership if she asked why my roads have not only more pot holes in addition to the ones they never fix along with more bike lanes that were taken away from car. As if rush hour wasn’t already a test of nerves.
Jim
Republicans aren’t don’t keep coming for Pete because he’s gay, but because he’s; well spoken, intelligent and is a threat to any candidate that may go against him
smittoons
Exactly. Like the Benghazi hearing wasn’t about getting to the bottom of what happened more than it was trying to damage the (then) stellar poll numbers for the next likely Democratic nominee for President.
abfab
Gym Jordan screams Benghazi! every day to block out the gym scenes.
ShaverC
“Under Buttigieg’s watch, transportation hubs across the country have made changes to increase their compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
What exactly did he do? And what else has he done? A whole lot of nothing.
still_onthemark
If you were a frequent transit rider with a disability (like me!) you wouldn’t be so dismissive of what he’s done. But yeah, when you criticize a politician you should never bother to look at what he’s done; you should simply assume he’s done nothing and criticize THAT!
inbama
There’s not much he can do.
I’ve read the Baltimore bridge replacement will knock out this year’s entire highway budget.
ShaverC
still_onthemark, This is an article… they state he’s made changes… what changes were made? If they’re giving us an example, then provide it, not just a blurb.
As far as I could tell, this is the only thing he’s done for people with disabilities: In July 2023, DOT finalized a rule to require airline lavatories to be accessible to people with disabilities. The Department also established the first Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights to help educate passengers with disabilities about their rights when they travel. DOT has also begun preliminary groundwork for a possible future rule that would address passengers staying in their own wheelchairs when they fly.
inbama, The bridge disaster just happened, what did he do before that?
Chrisk
ShaverC
Apparently a cabinet member not on the take or only doing things for their rich donors is something you don’t understand. Then again I don’t understand gay Republicans either.
Also thanks for Queerties motivation to change the commenting system to be more strict. You’ve done your job well.
still_onthemark
can’t figure out these glitches in the so-called “moderation” here, but look up the All Stations Accessibility Program
ShaverC
ChrisK, Who says he’s not on the take? Somehow he earned more than $800,000 through the stock market in 2019/2020. Quite a coincidence.
Still, The All Stations Accessibility Program was not introduced by Buttigieg but Sen Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and was approved bi-partisan.
still_onthemark
Shaver: A cabinet sec’y can’t introduce legislation, he implements the law and writes rules according to the law. You asked what he “does.”
ShaverC
Then he doesn’t get credit for it if he had nothing to do with it other than being told to implement it. You should be thanking Tammy.
still_onthemark
Shaver: uhhhh… what do you think a president “does”? Or anyone in the executive branch.
ShaverC
still_onthemark, Agreed, Buttigieg did nothing. See, even people with differing views can find common ground. Nice to see
still_onthemark
oh, I didn’t realize that laws implement themselves. I guess no president ever “does” anything either.
still_onthemark
Shaver: Let’s try this from the other direction. What do you think Elaine Chao did as Secretary of Transportation?
ShaverC
still_onthemark, We’re on the same page. Nothing. She did nothing, and Pete does nothing. You’re preaching to the choir buddy.
dbmcvey
Shave, once again commenting without doing any research.
still_onthemark
Shaver, now you seem to be making some silly ultra-libertarian point like “abolish the Dept. of Transportation”?
LumpyPillows
ShaverC, I think you misunderstand what a DoT secretary can and can’t do. The budget and priorities are set by congress. He can only administer what they give him with the authority granted by them.
So, yeah, he has done a great job with what he has been given.
abfab
This, Lumpy, is strong! Thank you.
Shaver—get a grip.
still_onthemark
I’m surprised no one has commented on the clever headline. Republicans keep cu m ming for Pete alright. And they love it when he blows up in their faces, lol.
still_onthemark
@Shaver: look up the All Stations Accessibility Program – (Queerty won’t let me answer you)
smittoons
The Biden administration desperately needs better PR to publicize its achievements. Every single infrastructure project benefitting from that bill, be it a new bridge, or train, or fixing a pothole, needs a big ol’ sign next to it crediting Biden. If Trump can insist on aid checks bearing his signature, Biden should be crowing about what he’s gotten done.
abfab
He should be, yes. But the Middle East continues to be an attractive nuisance. Over it.
Saps48
I’m not sure what Pete has done regarding the ADA, but I recently took a 2900 mile road trip from upstate New York, through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois and back, and there is a tremendous amount of major highway construction in every state I drove through.
Joe (and Pete) did that, to quote a gas pump sticker from a while back…
abfab
Truth. Thank you for this.
dbmcvey
Absolutely! Build Back Better is working so well that even Republicans who voted against it are claiming responsibility for its results!
LumpyPillows
Agreed!